The Hand of Saint James

I have been reading around and found that the hand of Saint James somehow became separated from his body and in 640 was being stored by the Bishop of Torcello of Venice and in 1072 was a part of the collection of the German Imperial chapel before being given, in 1133, to Reading Abbey’s founder by Henry I (or possibly the daughter of Henry I Matilda who was the widow of Henry V Emperor of Germany [Emperor Frederick Barbarossa did ask for the hand’s return but was politely refused and sent many gifts in return]). The hand is why the symbol of Reading Abbey had upon it three scallop shells.

The hand was one of 230 relics at the Abbey and was used in healing ceremonies (and was dipped into the ‘water of Saint James’) and attracted Pilgrims from all over Europe as well as the interest of Royalty with it being taken to Henry II before he went on a difficult oversees campaign and Richard Coeur-de-Lion considering taking it with him on his crusades.

In 1539 came the dissolution of the Monasteries and the hand was hidden in an iron chest before being dug by workmen who were building Reading Gaol in 1786 who gave it to Reading museum. In the 1840s a J scott Murray bought thee hand and put it in his private chapel at Danesford House in Reading and Marlow and on his death he left it to Saint Peter’s Church in Marlow where it is still on display (it made a brief return to Reading for five days for Saint James’ day in 2011 to the Church of Saint James).

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The Camino Primitivo

The Camino Primitivo (or the Original Way) is reportedly the very first Camino Way to Santiago in the 9 th century when most of Spain was under the control of the Moors and it runs from near the city of Ovideo in Asturias as it starts in Villavicosa (which also lies on the Camino Norte so many people follow this Way from Basque city of San Sebastian (Donosti in Basque) or in from the French border at Irun ( this route then hugs the Bay of Biscay passing through Guernica, Bilbao, Santander, Llanes before going under the Picos de Europa and then heads along the coast to Ovideo) before branching off onto the Primitivo which goes across the mountains and through the city of Lugo before joining the Frances at Melide. The route is 320km long. Image taken from https://viaalpina2013.wordpress.com/2013/04/14/camino-del-norte-camino-primitivo/

Symbols of the three main Christian Pilgrimages

The symbol of the Pilgrim to Santiago is the Scallop shell of which many can be found on the coast of Galicia and it is actually a symbol of the Pilgrimage (and has become a symbol of other Christian Pilgrimages too) partly because you could find the shell easily there and so could go back home and show it off as proof that you had done the Pilgrimage. It has also been included in carvings in some Churches.

Pilgrims' Trail to Saint Michels Mont, France

I have only walked two of the Camino routes (the Frances and Portuguese) and still want to try many of the others and yet I am also finding other Pilgrimage routes that I want to walk - I did the Pilgrims' Way in the summer which starts from Winchester which is also the starting point for the Pilgrims' Trail a 155 mile route that finishes at Mont St Michel in Normandy, France. The cult of saint Michel was popular in Britain from the 9th century and the Pilgrims walking this way were called Miquelots and many Pilgrims on their way to Santiago. The route is marked by green way markers in Hampshire taking walkers from Winchester to Bishop's Waltham to Southwick and then to Portsmouth where ferries are caught to France and Way markers become blue. Tradition says that, in 709 Saint Michael the Archangel appeared to the bishop of Avranches, Saint Aubert, and told him to build a chapel in his honour on the island. The bishop obeyed and soon sent a group of monks over...

On the Camino

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